All articles by FPJ Staff – Page 102
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ArticleEgyptian season brings new promise
An uncharacteristically warm winter in Egypt has caused problems for some product and benefited others. Elizabeth O’Keefe talks to key players as the country’s spring season produce makes its way to the UK marketplace
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ArticleSpain hit by bad weather ahead of crossover
Citrus players have not had an easy time of it in the last three months, with shortfalls and the exchange rate with the euro making trade trickier than usual for this time of year. All eyes are still on Spain following bouts of poor weather, before the South African season makes a start next month. Anna Sbuttoni reports
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Implementing enterprise resource planning
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation projects are invariably more complicated than executives expect. The task
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Produce wars hotly fought as UK summer approaches
If anyone needs a reminder of the fresh produce price war taking place, Tesco left its customers in no doubt at my local
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Industry debates as ash causes air standstill
It has been all eyes on the skies this week, as the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano in Iceland continued to erupt and ash threw
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Recovery: too strong a word for organics?
The organics industry must be scratching its head wondering where on earth it went wrong in the last 12 months.After a
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ArticleSunshine falls on prepared produce sector at last
The burst of good weather this spring combined with a slight uplift in the economy has given the prepared fruit and vegetable sector a much-needed boost. Elizabeth O’Keefe finds the industry optimistic for an uplift in sales, with consumers reaching for convenience as summer nears
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ArticleThe packaging conundrum
Shrink-wrapped cucumbers, four-packs of apples and bagged bananas are just some of the fresh produce lines regularly hauled into the headlines as part of the ongoing debate on packaging. Suppliers have been quick to point out that packaging protects fresh produce as it moves through the supply chain, increasing shelf life and reducing waste. But just last month, the major food players committed to cutting the carbon footprint of packaging as part of the second phase of the Courtauld Commitment. Here, Anna Sbuttoni looks at what is next for fresh produce packaging
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New ideas taking root as summer products appear
It is amazing just how fast any new ideas literally take root. Following my discovery of grow-your-own salads at Tesco in last
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ArticleOne potato, two potato... Albert Bartlett builds on Re:fresh triumph
When Albert Bartlett scooped the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) Packer of the Year gong at Re:fresh 2009, judges praised the Scottish potato firm’s “innovative day-to-day business practices” and “environmental principles”. And in the last 12 months, the company has gone from strength to strength, with the consolidation of its recently constructed packhouse in Jersey, two new varieties due to be unveiled to the public this autumn and some high-profile TV advertising campaigns ensuring the firm’s Rooster potato brand is steadily becoming a household name. Laura Gould visited Bartlett’s main site in Airdrie to find out what makes the potato packer tick
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ArticleJersey builds on reputation to maintain UK exports
Jersey Royal potatoes are well known as the jewel in the Jersey offer, but the island is home to a mix of vegetables, from cauliflower and courgettes to runner beans, leeks and sweetcorn. Anna Sbuttoni visited the island for its first regional report on the area to meet the major growers and exporters ahead of the start of their season
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ArticleNisa-Today’s draws from Re:fresh boost
When Nisa-Today’s, one of the UK’s leading member-owned retailer organisations, won the QV Fresh Approach Convenience Retailer of the Year gong at last year’s Re:fresh Awards, the group had just set up a fresh produce team to refocus and revitalise its fruit and vegetable offer throughout the UK. Here, Elizabeth O’Keefe catches up with Nisa-Today’s business manager Nick Slater to find out how the company has progressed since winning the award
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Definitions become blurred as shopper choice expands
Fruit and vegetables still remain a flagship line in the multiples, but the definition of what is on sale has become blurred
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ArticleSteady growth in exotics aisle as shopper interest on rise
The last three months have seen the exotics category enjoy relatively good volume growth, with many shoppers returning to the fold and certain lines enjoying a strong start to 2010. However, adverse weather in some growing regions could affect supplies over the next few months. Laura Gould reports
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ArticleSouth African top-fruit industry holds its own through searing heat
The early market for pears in the EU has been a good start for the South African top-fruit season. The delays in shipping from Chile as a result of the two earthquakes at the end of February and start of March have provided a short-term supply gap, increasing market demand for South African top fruit in the UK market. Louise Brodie reports from South Africa
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ArticleFIFA World Cup boost for South African avocado campaign
South Africa plans to capitalise on the UK’s taste for avocados and is launching a number of promotional campaigns this year. Doris Lee Butterworth examines prospects for new arrivals and asks if the rise in Peruvian production is causing much concern
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Anecdotal evidence puts Plimsoll data in context
The data released by Plimsoll this week revealing that a large proportion of companies in the fresh produce sector are in rude
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Opening a gateway to the great North West?
It is interesting to see that Liverpool Produce Terminal (LPT) is now receiving direct fruit shipments from the Iberian
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ArticleIt’s oh so quiet... fresh thinking on night-time deliveries
For many companies in the fresh produce sector, the fringe benefits of night-time deliveries - greater supply chain reliability, lower transport costs and smaller carbon footprints - are well known. Less commonly known are the methods by which the potentially anti-social corollary of making out-of-hours deliveries, namely noise pollution, can be almost entirely negated. Natalie Chapman of the Freight Transport Association (FTA) explains why late night and early morning deliveries need not leave local residents reaching for their earplugs